Pinterest Recipe Wins of 2012

Just call December 2012 The Month of Peppermint Marshmallows and Buffalo Cauliflower.

Because those two recipes are my Pinterest Wins of 2012.

Peppermint Marshmallows!! That I made!!

Ah, Pinterest- the website which answers life's greatest question: How do I view hundreds of things I like on the internet all at once? You may have heard your friends say, "Oh, don't give me any credit, I saw it on Pinterest..." or, "Pinned it!" or, "Pinterest win!" or maybe, "Pinterest fail!" Well I say, don't be ashamed of grand ideas you front as your own just because you got the idea from Pinterest. Pinning is one thing. Actually making/cooking/wearing/doing things found on Pinterest is all you, baby.

It was Pinterest who taught me to tie a belt like this:

And also where I saw this outfit, which I recreated for an interview:

But those minor outfit successes do not compare to the recipe inspirations pinned below!

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows! Sounds impressive... because it is! The pin came from a blog, listed under the photo, and I was willing to try it after I saw the blogger used Alton Brown's recipe. Alton Brown, culinary geek and writer of foolproof recipes... thanks to science!

This is how you make marshmallows: Mix gelatin and cold water in a mixer. Heat sugar, corn syrup, and water on the stove until a candy thermometer says it has reached 240 degrees F. Then pour the hot, dangerous sugar into the mixer while it's on and mix on the HIGHEST speed for 13 minutes! Pour into a prepared pan and let it rest for 4 hours before cutting with a pizza cutter and dusting all edges with a mixture of 10X sugar and corn starch. Peppermint extract and crushed peppermints make them perfect for the holiday season! You can find Alton's recipe, and a video on how to do it HERE!

I took a few photos documenting the group marshmallow effort. So, in December, my parents moved home after spending 4 years in Germany! They arrived without their "house," which is coming in a container sometime this month. We had to improvise all month in their kitchen with minimal cooking tools.

Don't try this at home: a "candy thermometer," aka, a hot water thermometer delicately balanced over boiling sugar with a fork. It looks dangerous, probably because it is.

Pouring boiling sugar into a live mixing bowl is scary! That's what dads are for!

Whipping the sugars and gelatin for 13 minutes allows the mixture to cool to room temperature before handling.

So worth the effort! Peppermint marshmallows were a HIT this year!

Homemade marshmallows, a laborious yet worthwhile treat.

Now let's talk about buffalo cauliflower. Buffalo chicken wings impersonated by cauliflower. I originally saw the pin and thought... "That is just ridiculous." But who am I to turn my nose up to a vegetable as deliciously enticing as cauliflower? (Remember my cauliflower pizza?) Well... it's SCRUMPTIOUS! The original recipe, which appears to have come from PETA, goes like this: dip cauliflower pieces in a milk and flour batter, bake at a high heat, then cover with hot sauce mixed with a little butter, and serve with blue cheese dressing. It seemed like the batter ran off during the roasting, so I decided to skip that part the second time. (Yes, I've made it more than once!) Here's what I did...

Buffalo Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower
Olive oil
1 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce
2 tbsp butter (or Earth Balance, for the plant-focused!)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter and stir into hot sauce, set aside.
2. Cut cauliflower at the stalks into large pieces. Lightly dress with oil and spread on a large baking sheet.
3. Cook 18-20 minutes, until cauiflower begins to brown.
4. Remove from oven, toss hot cauliflower with sauce and return to pan. Cook another 5 minutes.
5. Enjoy with blue cheese dip, celery and carrots!

I must confess, I did not photograph my own. I was much too interested in eating it. Seriously people, try this. Even the cauliflower-hating, chicken-wing-loving friends at our New Year's party enjoyed it!

My last post was all about Christmas gifts for the foodie. I have to show you what my mom, a fabulous giver of gifts, gave to me/us this year...

Oh you know. Just a swan that holds your rings while you cook. And behind it- a spice key chain! Complete with salt, pepper, paprika, and curry. I am never eating a dull meal on-the-go again.

Here's to 2013- a toast to deliciously dangerous kitchen exploits and to the many ways to eat cauliflower yet undiscovered.

Gift Guide for the Food Lover

Have I told you that I love presents? I do. I LOVE presents. Giving and receiving them. Gifts are my "love language," if you will. I even love getting the mail because I never know what will be inside. If you struggle in the gift-giving-department this holiday season, allow me to assist you with this list of 10 gifts for the food lover in your life! (Many of these gifts I have received myself, so they do, in fact, have my personal stamp of approval!)

1. Personalized Pyrex
Gifted for our wedding, this amazing dish lets the rest of the world know that everything I make is 100% Morganic! Thanks Katie! (Search Etsy for several artists who create these.)

these brownies are both gluten-free and morganic

2.  Personalized M&M's
These M&M's have our faces on them! And we cannot thank our sweet friend Sarah enough for sending us these as a wedding present!

taking M&M to the next level

 3. Gourmet Mustard
My dear friend Lauren gave me this mustard... and it is definitely the best mustard ever. It's perfect with cheese or crackers. I can't wait to try more of these from Terrapin Ridge Farms. The Brown Sugar and Pecan and Brewer's Mustard look amazing. Perfect for the condiment aficionado in your life!

best. ever. mustard.

4. Jazzy Cutlery
Also pictured above, I am the proud owner of this Wusthof Gourmet 4-inch Decorating Knife. My knife-snob parents (love ya!) gave me this offset handle, crinkle-y blade knife that is delightful for cheeses and vegetables. I once got a room of 20 people who had never tried radishes to devour a plate of them with hummus, no doubt due to the intriguing cut!

jazzy decorating knife

 Might I also suggest the Wusthof Classic 5-inch Tomato Knife. Next to butternut squash, tomatoes quite possibly may be the most annoying thing to cut. A razor-sharp serrated blade will have you gliding through tomatoes with ease.

tomato knife

5. French Oven and Pretty Pottery
The most beautiful of the food-lovers' gifts! I feel happy inside every time I lay eyes on my Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron French Oven in Caribbean. It is one of my favorite wedding presents (thanks Wendy & the girls!) This is a quality gift that will last a cook's lifetime, available in a variety of rich colors. Find the nearest Le Creuset outlet store near you, I hear that's the best way to buy them.
  We also received some lovely handmade pottery soup bowls that get their use in our house at least once per week. Handmade pottery is a great way to support local artists and give a one-of-a-kind gift. Ours were purchased for us at Arts Fest in State College.

soup's definitely on in these pretty vessels

6. Truffle Oil
Category: Things Food Lovers Want But May Never Buy For Themselves
 My dear Lauren (the mustard giver) gave me white truffle oil from O & Co. for Christmas last year. My favorite use? A few drops on a cheesy wild mushroom risotto. Delish.

7. Soda Stream
Wow. This might be the most valuable thing in my kitchen besides my chef's knife. A home-carbonation system. Here's how it works: Fill the Soda Stream bottles with regular tap water and chill in the fridge. When a seltzer craving strikes (all day long if you are me), twist the bottle onto the machine and press the button. A CO2 cartridge pumps gas into your water, creating bubbly H2O in seconds. One liter of sparkling water via the Soda Stream costs about 25 cents, where a liter at the grocery store can cost up to $1.00. You do the math: MAJOR SAVINGS! You can also purchase syrups to add to the already-sparkled water, creating many flavors of soda. But we (I) like to keep it clean, just bubbles and water.

the no-brainer gift: a home carbonation system!

8. Homemade Vanilla Extract
Why buy it when you can make it? Well, because it takes about 2 months to make... there's your disclaimer: you can't officially make homemade vanilla extract in time for this year's Christmas gifts, but it is still a noteworthy homemade present. Just combine whole vanilla bean pods, split down the middle, with enough vodka to cover them in a glass jar, using the ratio of 5 bean pods per 8 oz of vodka. Let sit for 8 weeks! A blog called Beanilla should answer any additional questions. I think all of our friends will be getting homemade extract for Valentine's Day this year!

homemade vanilla: it seems too simple not to make

9. Stylish Aprons
For the fashion-conscious cook in your life. My cousin Kelly got me this chic outfit-protector from Anthropologie. Throw in a matching nail polish for added flair!

the perfect accessory for a food lover

10. Home-Roasted Coffee

Buy whole beans roasted in a small batch with love and care. My favorites are Paradisos Coffee and Bassett Beans. (Find them both on facebook.) Make it a really great gift by adding a ceramic drip coffee cone for your coffee-loving friend.

photo by paradisos coffee

Give with joy!